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The virtual realm ranges from the daily humdrum to some of the most astonishing and complex utilities that have changed the way we live our lives. Today, each one of us have become a creator and designer, which was not very appreciated a decade ago. In 2008, Nike got recognized as the World’s Most Innovative Company, all credit going to Nike iD, which helped the customers to imprint personalized designs onto Nike sneakers. We are living in the age of technology and creativity, where latest and easy to use tech tools accessible on our phones through apps are available. You talk of any sector or industry, technology has not only enabled, but also encouraged a unique customer experience.

Let’s see some examples:

Real Estate: Real Estate professionals are leveraging VR to allow home buyers to visualize, interact with, design and experience their homes in immersive 3D. You can now design your interiors even before the house is constructed. You can now view every corner of your house and see what it looks like in real life, rather than relying solely on 2D models and other people’s advice. To the builders, it helps them is giving confidence to the customer in terms of designing, purchasing decisions and above all saves a lot of time.

Retailers’: Technology has changed the way people explore a store. Now if you want to buy furniture or even a car, you can make your selection sitting on your couch. The pricing and other relevant details are made available just in few clicks and your order gets placed. Also so many technologies, including VR have come up where the customers can take part in an experience where they can design their wardrobes, kitchens, bathrooms, etc. and even share it ahead with their friends through various social media channels.

Advertising: Advertising houses are making big time use of VR and related technologies and are designing their campaigns in context of the brand culture. Mountain Dew for example, created content and videos using Samsung’s Gear VR. Industry players and experts believe that if there is anything that is going to inspire mass consumer adoption, it will be Virtual Reality. It has also been observed that commercials with an interactive experience holds on the visitors for a longer time, in comparison to others!

Entertainment: You can now enjoy the music of your favourite artist anytime and anywhere. Music companies, specially are already exploring the role the technology can play in live music experiences.

Health care: With a 3-D model, doctors can now explore a 360-degree view of the patient’s body or a particular part before the surgery and thus spot and work on some critical issues that need to be addressed. Moreover, it also helps patients get a better sense of what will occur during the procedure, which can help put them at ease.

Travel: A lot of airways have found a new way of entertaining the customers while waiting for their flight. Airports now have public VR kiosks, where they can virtually visit a place even before they board. Experts have shared these experiences are not only a wonderful source of in-flight entertainment, but also drives the customers’ attention towards things like services, etc.

Thus technology is helping the brands to create a unique and memorable experience. While every sector and industry is becoming competitive; creation of a viral and immersive customer experience is something that the marketers will have to think of. Being ‘tech forward’ has a lot of importance these days, but at the same time, not many brands and agencies are well-versed with it. So think smartly about how will you use technology to create an engaging and memorable experience for your customers!

Lately I've been hearing a lot about the idea of ​​branding yourself. I found an article from Investor's Business Daily that talks about the Art of Branding Yourself in Business.

The author, Gary Stern uses David Bach, the author of books like Smart Women Finish Rich and Automatic Millionaire, to illustrate the idea of ​​branding yourself.

Bach did not set out to be the Wells Fargo Investment guru. As a CPA he wanted to teach financial seminaries to women, mainly widows and divorceses. Thus he wrote Smart Women Finish Rich, because his passion was teaching people about money.

Bach says "I wanted to bring my message to millions of people, change their lives by making complicated issues simple and get people to take action. make an impact. "

David Bach had the ability to teach people about money. This is where he felt he could add value to his clients. This was his brand.

Stern quotes Rick Haskins (Author of "Brand Yourself") that "Since Corporate America has exploited many people, attaching a name and a face to a brand is becomg more important."

This is so true is not it? People have no idea who to trust anymore. By branding yourself as an expert and as someone who has truly had their clients best interests at heart, you will become trustworthy in their eyes.

So how does this relate to you and your MLM business?

Here's a fact. For the most part people have a preconceived awareness of what an MLM or direct sales business is. Their mom was in Avon or had a cousin in Amway or something. So if your prospect has seen these people do it, and fail, then what do you have to offer them?

This is where most people begin to start selling their business opportunity. "We're debt free," or "We're ground floor" etc.

In your prospect's mind, he's saying "Who gives? How are you going to help me succeed?"

See, where most people start selling their business opportunity, this is where you should start selling yourself, selling your brand.

"I can help you because …"

"I have your solution …"

This is what Bach did for his clients. He welcomed on his knowledge and showed that he was out to help his client. Bach had their best interest at heart.

The best way to start your brand is by becoming an expert about your business opportunity and your products. Why? Because knowing this will allow your prospect to trust you and, most important, follow you.

Here's the list of strategies that Stern says has worked for Bach:

1. Tap your passion: Identify your own passions and purpose in life.

2. Become skilled at generating publicity: This is getting your name out there. You can easily do this with Google AdWords or using Internet Marketing strategies, like Magnetic Sponsoring.

3. Keep it Simple: Stick to the basics by only focusing on what your client / prospect wants and what they need to do in order to get what they want.

4. Evolve the Brand: Start with a niche then begin to expand into other niches. When you become in expert in say home care, then become an expert in nutrition and service those type of clients.

5. Create Multiple Revenue Streams: What is meant here is create multiple revenue streams to your business. You can do this with affiliate programs. Or you can market your own information product like an ebook or brochure about your business opportunity.

6. Secure Sponsors: Again this refers to affiliate programs such as Magnetic Sponsoring. You can use Dillard's information product as tool to help grow your business and get clients.

7. Know your target audience: This is critical. Your target prospect is not your uncle who's plopped in front of the TV right now. Look for people who are looking for your products or your business opportunity.

These strategies are just a thumbnail sketch of what you can do to enhance your business. Obviously when you go into depth in each of these strategies there is a lot to learn. There are plenty of resources out there to help you grow your business.

A true entrepreneur will do whatever it takes, right?

Remember to add value to your prospects by explaining what you have to offer them.

Many small businesses are considering jumping into the world of email marketing. Email marketing has many different advantages, but it also has a few drawbacks that you need to keep in mind. The truth is that when utilized in the correct fashion it can be an extremely powerful and cost effective way of promoting your business and producing more sales. Once you learn about the pros and cons of email, you will be able to begin your own campaigns and get started down the path towards increased success and profitability.

The Advantages of Email Marketing

There are several key benefits to running an email marketing campaign. One of the most important is how cost efficient is can be. There is no other form of direct marketing that is as cheap as email marketing is. A 2005 study by the Winterberry Group found that for every dollar spent on email marketing, $15.50 was earned in return. There is much relevant data pointing to email marketing having a superior ROI than telemarketing, direct mail campaigns, radio or billboard advertisements and more.

Another advantage that email has is that you can quickly get your message across, and you can reach your customers and prospects in a place where they are comfortable communicating. If you have an idea for a new sale or promotion for the upcoming weekend, you can inform all of your customers about that immediately. With print advertising, traditional direct mail or anything else, the turnaround time could be days or possibly even a week or more.

One of the real strengths to running an email campaign is how effectively you can track the results that it produces. You will be able to see every click that is made to your website as a result of the email, and you will be able to see statistics such as how many people read the message, how many times they read it, if they ended up making a purchase and on down the line.

There is no other form of marketing or advertising that produces such an array of in-depth statistics. It’s an invaluable way to track your marketing efforts, and make the most out of every dollar you put into promotion.

Finally, another important advantage to email marketing that you will want to remember is that it’s the perfect way to convert prospects over a long period of time. No matter how great your products or services may be, not every person will be immediately ready to make a purchase or investment. Email marketing is the perfect tool to continue chipping away at those prospects over the long haul. By developing a relationship with each prospect and providing them with useful information, you will gain their trust and stay at the forefront of their mind.

The Disadvantages of Email Marketing

The largest disadvantage of email marketing is that so many people today are fed up with spam. All of our accounts are flooded with wasted emails everyday, and it’s a worldwide plague of the largest scale. Because of this, many people are wary about opening up emails from businesses, or about trusting anything they see in their inbox.

You can help combat this problem by being as transparent as possible. This means making it easy for people to see who is sending your message and what it’s about. It also means ensuring that all of your email addresses are used with permission, and you never purchase a list or steal addresses from another website.

Another disadvantage with email marketing is that far too many small business owners or managers know how to make a campaign work for them. Perhaps they try using gimmicks or copying an email that somebody else sent out. However, a much more effective strategy is sticking within your own identity, playing to your strengths and providing your prospects and customers with exactly what they are looking for.

Making Email Marketing Work for You

The bottom line is that the benefits of email marketing far outweigh the disadvantages. It’s all about learning how to run your own campaigns in the right way, and for maximum success there will be some trial and error as you traverse that path. By not utilizing email campaigns you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to help your business become more efficient and more profitable.

While you're tooling around Mexico, you'll want to stay connected. Mexico City has excellent internet café facilities even for those who Spanish is not the greatest. English is spoken in many internet cafés in the Zona Rosa and Historic District. Here are some of your e-café options.

Café Internet Victal

Address: Hamburgo No. 108 local 101 at the corner of Genova

Phone: 514 – 4161, 672 – 3821

With a going rate of 20 pesos per hour, this is one of the cheapest full-service Internet cafés in the area. Chats, computer games, and office programs (word, Excel, etc.) are also available. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. The Victal is open from 9am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and is open on Sundays half a day. There are many computer-related services available – if it has to do with computers, they can probably do it or have it. Getting into the place is tricky at first. From the corner of Genova walk down Hamburgo about a quarter of a block. Enter the building through an arcade doorway and go up to the second floor. The entrance will be there but you'll have to look closely for the signs. The only visible signs from the street are above your head at the second story level with no clue for finding the entrance. You may have a short wait to get onto a computer but this place is worth the trouble.

Coffee Net – Zona Rosa

Address: Florencia No. 35 Local E (between Hamburgo and Londres)

Phone: 533 – 0844, 533 – 1760

An Internet café – cafeteria featuring a variety of gourmet sandwiches, salads, gourmet coffes and cappuccinos. The hourly rate is 25 pesos. Services are acceptable quality but a bit costly. Centrally located with good quality but pricey food.

Coffee Mail

Address: Amberes No. 61

A 24 pesos hourly rate internet café with standard fare. Similar in structure and price to Coffee Net but with less selection of sandwiches, coffees and foods. Regular customers typically come in to check or send e-mails. Other services are available but not heavily used.

Café Internet Red 2000

Address: in the Insurgentes metro station plaza

Phone: no phone

After exiting the metro at the Insurgentes station, this Internet café is in the outside plaza surrounding the station entrances. Long distance phone services are available through the internet. Rates are: 15 minutes 8 pesos, 30 minutes 16 pesos, 45 minutes 24 pesos, one hour 30 pesos. Only sodas and packed snacks are available.

Conecte Cafe

Address: Liverpool No. 140 (near Amberes)

Phone: 587 – 6179, 587 – 7737

A very well run internet café with full computer services including scanner, photoshop, translations, printing, Microsoft office and MP3 software available, all at reasonable rates. The internet use rate is 20 pesos per hour but there are only a few computers. Located across from Harmon Hall and Quick Learning building. There is also another Zona Rosa location at Genova No. 1. 71 on the first floor near Londres.

NOTE: There are other Internet cafés around the Zona Rosa area with varyingly higher prices for similar services.

In the Historic District:

LAFOEL Internet Service

Address: Doncelles No. 80 first floor (two blocks from the cathedral)

Phone: 512-3584, 521-2978

Open Monday to Friday from 9 am – 8 pm and Saturdays from 10 am – 5 pm. Rates for services are: 10 pesos for 15 minutes, 20 pesos for 30 minutes and 30 pesos for one hour. Conveniently located near the Zocalo but a bit on the high side for service costs. Okay just to check mail or send a quick message though. They also rent computer equipment. Just be sure to confirm the rates before signing anything or leaving the promises with equipment.

Finally, be sure to check out my other articles in the two continuing series: Teaching English in Mexico and Traveling in Mexico. If you would like more information, have questions or comments, the author can be e-mailed, see below.